The “War” Dance

Religious Practices of the Diegueño Indians, by T.T. Waterman, [1910], at sacred-texts.com

THE "WAR" DANCE.

The writer observed the Horloi or "War dance" a number of times in the fall of 1907. It always occurred after nightfall. A large fire was kindled in the evening on the northern side of the dance-circle and soon after sundown a number of women seated themselves in a group near it. As fresh wood was thrown on, the old men who expected to dance began taking off their shoes. Each one put on either an owl-feather headband, tsekwirp, (pl. 22, fig. 4), or else tied a handkerchief about his forehead. Those who had headplumes of split owl-feathers, talo, (pl. 22, fig. 1, 2, 3),

p. 321

thrust them upright in this headband. An old man then stood up and made a short speech, very loud and emphatic. The other old men grunted three times deep in their chests. The old man then said a few words, and the others grunted once. The substance of the speech was said to be that the dance had come down from their fathers, and that they were going to do it as they had always done it. Then the leader of the dance, without his rattle, took a position close in front of the women, and leaning over, began to mutter the words of a War-dance song. The women listened in silence. The old man varied his muttering by stamping with his right foot and grunting. This continued until the occurrence of one of the ceremonial rests. A second old man then joined the first, and the two sang in a guttural whisper, at times clapping their hands softly as if to urge the women on. After some time the women began to sing, so faintly at first that the sound was barely audible. The singing was interrupted by occasional pauses or rests. The leader seemed to call for these by clapping his hands sharply once with a deep grunt. During these pauses or rests the men left the dance-circle, but the women remained seated, without movement. The leader gave the signal for more dancing by entering the circle and beginning the words of the next song.

After some time the singing grew more distinct. More of the men joined in at every pause, and the grunting also grew louder and more labored. The dancers marked time to the music by stamping with the right foot. Soon they began to hitch themselves forward in little jumps after each stamp. The singing grew rapidly louder and shriller. By the time the seventh or eighth song was taken up the music was a full-toned chant, of which the words were plainly audible. The dust by this time rose steadily from the feet of the old men as they shuffled backwards and forwards.

There seemed to be no rule governing the number of times the words of each song were repeated. The men joined in certain parts of every song, singing in a very jerky and energetic fashion. In fact, they exclaimed rather than sang. When they were not singing, they grunted in unison in time to the music.

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During the eighth or ninth song, the men faced to the left, that is toward the west, and began to dance in a large circle. The dancing step consisted of two jumps, followed by a stride. After completing the circle they always formed a stationary group in front of the women, stamping hard and grunting. At places in every song during the latter half of the Horloi dance, marked by a sudden rise in the pitch of the music, the men all raised and shook first their right hands and then their left, their fists being closed. ^109a This was done three times. The old man who led the singing always touched the right side of his neck, in this gesture, with his left fist, fingers out, after he had shaken his fist toward the west. No definite information concerning the significance of the gesture was obtained. The movement in a circle was explained as representing the movement of the cultus eastward from the islands. "The dance came from the west, so we dance from the west," is the way in which one informant put the statement.

The close of each song was marked by a quick, explosive grunt on the part of the men. This was always accompanied by striking the open hands together once.

After the dance had been in progress several hours, the men just previous to each pause formed in line and danced backward. In this movement the hands were clasped together in front, the dancers assuming a stooping posture. The singing and dancing always stopped at the time of the ceremonial pause with surprising suddenness, the leaders breaking into a satisfied chuckle as the final explosive word of the song found them stricken motionless.

Several times in the course of this ceremony a man who seemed to have no other duty raised a saucer full of tobacco in his two hands. As he did so he pronounced "mwau" in what resembled a tone of surprise or astonishment. The dancers always responded with an upward gesture and an expulsion of the breath. This was repeated three times, the third repetition consisting of two expulsions. Between times this man sat motionless near the women. He was said to be called the "Tatahuila," in Diegueño.

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kaponail. ¹¹⁰ The tobacco thus held aloft was afterwards smoked by the old men.

As the closing song of the Horloi the Diegueño always sang the following:

This song, in contradistinction to those which immediately preceded it, was sung very slowly and very softly. Each dancer removed his headplume and held it in his hand. As the song progressed, they gradually shuffled into a line before the women and stood facing them "Indian file." Holding the plumes in their right hands, they made long vertical strokes in time to the music. From one side the gesture gave the impression of being directed at the women. At every third repetition of the song the dancers waved their plumes skyward with an expulsion of the breath. At the twelfth repetition the leader cried out "tea." The dancers in response gave three quick expulsions of the breath, followed after an instant by a fourth. The leader then cried: "Paropum, paropum!" (throw it away!) The dancers then repeated the last gesture.

During a Horloi dance which took place at Mesa Grande in September, 1907, the following songs were sung in the order given. They were said to be in the Luiseño language, but are more probably in the related dialect of San Gabriel.

1.	awi kwaitomya
	awi yompo yuwiyom
	atsatsa tcunga
2.	wipiyom tonya anoti
	saher riki ranito
	waiyoti toroteher
3.	monaha monaha (probably incomplete)
4.	tomom mari nipam
	tomom mari nipam
	togorowi
	tomom, etc. p. 324
5.	tsoxa xita tsoxa
	xita tsaxoxa hiyaiya
6.	hotom hita
	monini atoxa
	mani sapame
7.	pamivat pane
	hinne hixo awiwi
8.	yaare haima
	tomo miki
	kwinneya yainga mora
9.	akavira waiyoti
	miyaim vitaya
	yikau waiyoti
	nikoma
10.	yekino yekino yekino
	saho nitomya
	miya homa nita
	saxo haitonya
	hayuki hayuki
	hahai cahovit
11.	honi maiyeno
	mini nompeno mini nokirowi
12.	hwemini yo hwemini
	yomtero (word or words missing)
13.	pawa xapa
	wami nopawe
	yumpeni kete
14.	hawe yumbri
	hana maipo ampur
	vitamtero wamki hawe yumbri
15.	hetciyom hanita
	yonitsa pehamtsur
	komya yonitsa
	pehamki
16.	haita ponikwa
	... manikwa (fragmentary)
17.	tsera tomyac
	rera tomyac
	gina pera
	mini tomyac
	kokeni gino
18.	wipiri (fragmentary)
19.	gai nita (fragmentary)
20.	awe awini awe awini
	kwaiye komnipa
21.	mommai yomtera
	mommai toroyote komya
22.	nehyo pama ...
	okami peyo ...
	nitso
23.	tamki kiyi
	yaiyu vita
24.	metsair waipeno
	hiyoni
25.	The final song was sung very softly:
	kaipovi paima
	povitem yara
	tavomai yeki natavo
	maitara

The following series of songs were sung at a Horloi held at Santa Ysabel in September, 1907. Like the former series they are said to be Luiseño.

1.	The first song was inaudible.
2.	kadjuo wamki
	sia waipo
3.	tcawaiko mero
	muni ... (incomplete)
4.	tama huna wipeni ... (incomplete)
5.	haowa haiwano
	monini
6.	tolema tolema
	xapo nika
	xapo wiki mini
7.	tekmai huni a hwemini 111
	cukai tekmai huni
	howa tekmai
8.	ata xatopra 112
	awiwi umtero
	awi ata p. 325
9.	mina nomri mowiki
	mina nomriwi
10.	ota nita ota nita
	omni partemui
11.	tserau ahawi
	mane nipeni tsiro
	mane nipeni
12.	terera tomyaxa terera tomyaxa 113
	gina pera mini tomyaxa
	tokeni gino
13.	ge nita 114
	manita
	awi wiromni
	yoni yoni
	manita
14.	kwate koni take
	ana xanoko
15.	tayawe
	tayawe
16.	awe awini awe wini
	kwaiye komnipa
17.	karampa pawe
	wimpeki yoiyo
18.	nekema yato nika
	kenonat yatoma
	yato nika kenonat
19.	hayo tipeno 115
	waiyoti moya
	wira wira wira wira
20.	awiwi haiyom hoka
	tarampa hoka
	tarampa heron
21.	awiwi yomkeri 115
	waipeno
22.	mona naka mona 116
	nitomya
23.	hana maimaka
	koram koram koram
	hotcepe niturti turti
24.	awewe hyombri 116
	wihyombri ataku
25.	kaipovi paima 117

Footnotes

322:109a The hostility suggested by this gesture, which occurs frequently, is said by some to be the reason why the ceremony is called the "War" dance. The name may however be derived from the whites.

323:110 See above under Boys' Adolescence Ceremony. "Tatahuila" is a very familiar term in the mouths of both the Luiseño and Diegueño. It is said by both to be a Spanish word. It suggests, however, the Luiseño root taw-i, to sit at one side, tatawi, to sit customarily at one side, plus the noun-ending -la. On the other hand the regular suffix denoting the action of a verb is -c, and the accent should not leave the stem syllable, so that the Luiseño form to be expected would be tata´wic rather than tatawī´la, in Spanish orthography tatahuila. The tempting etymology is therefore at least doubtful.

324:111 Compare the twelfth song of the preceding series.

324:112 Compare the twelfth song of the preceding series.

325:113 Evidently the same song as the seventeenth of the preceding series.

325:114 Evidently the same song as the nineteenth of the preceding series.

325:115 Compare songs 19, 21, 22, and 24 of this series with 9, 24, 10, and 14 of the preceding. With 19 compare also 2 of the preceding series.

325:116 See footnote ¹¹⁵.

325:117 The same as the final song of the preceding series.